Education Development Fund(EDF)

In July 2004, the Finance Committee (FC) of the Legislative Council approved the setting up of the EDF with a grant of $550 million to provide differentiated school-based professional support (SBPS) to build up schools’ capacity to take forward the education reform measures. Since its inception, the EDF has been supporting schools and teachers by way of the following five strands of the SBPS Programmes, namely:

(i) Principal Support Network;(ii) School Support Partners (Seconded Teacher) Scheme;(iii) Professional Development Schools Scheme;(iv) University-School Support Programmes; and(v) Collegial Participation in External School Review.

In January 2012, the FC approved the injection of a sum of $550 million into the EDF to continue providing support to the school sector for five years from the 2012/13 s.y. up to 2016/17 s.y., for making necessary adjustments arising from the education reform initiatives through the SBPS Programmes.

The Advisory Committee on the Education Development Fund which comprises frontline teachers, principals, academics and community members has been set up since August 2004 to advise on the operation of the Fund and the implementation of the SBPS Programmes. A cross-divisional working group within the Education Bureau (EDB) has been set up to oversee and monitor the delivery of the Programmes on a regular basis.

Important Documents:Item for Finance Committee: “School-based Professional Support Programmes” FCR(2004-05)26_2 July 2004Item for Finance Committee: “Injection into the Education Development Fund” FCR(20011-12)68_13 January 2012

Note for Finance Committee: “School-based Professional Support Programmes Financed by the Education Development Fund ”FCRI (2016-17)1_April 2016

Information paper to the Panel on Education on School-based Professional Support Programmes financed by the Education Development Fund (2014/15) (Information Paper No. CB(4)529/15-16(01))